Now for Wrath! Now for Ruin! And the Red Dawn!
by LapinNoire
Summary: TV-season2. To infiltrate Efrafa is hard, to betray your Cheif is harder. Keeping each other happy and contented? Seems like childs-play. Childs-play in a den of angry, hungry (and horny) elil. What's a bunny to do! K themed because it's bunnies, but there are some facts of life (like death for example) which cannot be ignored. Deal with it, kids.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**_ Revised! It was pointed out that I'd made some pretty glaring mistakes, so I've taken care of those (I think), but if any more crop up, do tell!

* * *

Chapter 1 – Infiltration.

The night drew the world in on its embrace, stretching cool fingers out across the hills, across the sky, for as far as the eye could see. Moonlight lit up the down, trickling down through the treetop and dusting the soft, dark earth in silvery light. It was a beauty to behold. A lone figure sat out on the edge of the down, wondering at the nights' beauty and if she should ever experience it again. Sleep, she knew, was a commodity she wasn't likely to get a lot of in the next coming days, but alas it eluded her. Perhaps it was the gravity of the situation which had just settled on her shoulders that drove away sleep; perhaps it was something else, a hope… A dream… Of a far off place and a long ago time?

She shook her head and glanced over her shoulder at a noise. Bigwig was making his way over to her, offering her a confused expression. She heaved a sigh and shook her head.

"It's no good," She said quietly as he settled beside her. "I just can't accept this. It's making me nervous and sleepless and I feel absolutely horrible just thinking about it…"

"Thinking about what, Blackberry?" Bigwig asked, whiskers twitching as he sniffed the air. The night patrol was always something he did alone, just checking the barest perimeters to ensure there were no elil anywhere nearby. That would be a very nasty wake-up call.

"Campion." She confessed. "How he's betraying his Chief."

"It's his choice, Blackberry."

"No but Bigwig!" The doe rounded on him. "He's alone! It wasn't his choice to be alone like that, with no one around to call him friend. The home he knew is gone now, he's exiled himself within it and…" She shook her head again, "And I just can't sit by and watch as he destroys himself. It's so… so…"

"Tragic." Bigwig finished when she struggled for words.

"Yes, tragic."

Bigwig heaved a sigh, the idea _was_ rather upsetting. "Look, Blackberry, being a Captain of the Owsla means tough choices-"

"I'm joining Efrafa."

"D-What?!" He recoiled in horror at the idea. But Blackberry's visage was one of stoic determination. He sat forward, putting both paws on her shoulders, "You can't be serious!"

"You know I'm serious, Bigwig." She said, shaking his paws off. "Campion needs help, he's all alone in there and you, fiver and hazel are too well known. I'm going. Don't try and stop me."

"Someone else can do it!" Bigwig made another grab for her, but she ducked away. "Dandelion or Hawkbit!"

"Hawkbit wouldn't do it; he'd be too scared or just find the whole thing bothersome and Dandelion… He's nowhere near cunning enough." She nodded, "You need a doe on this sort of thing. Someone who doesn't mind getting her paws dirty."

"Dirty with blood." He pointed out. "You don't have to do this, Blackberry. I'm sure Campion has it all under control."

"No, Bigwig!" She stamped a foot. "You don't get it because you've never been alone like that before! You've never betrayed your chief! There's nothing you can say that would persuade me out of this."

"Hazel won't like it." The one last attempt was swept aside.

"Then don't tell Hazel." She turned to go down the hill, intending on approaching Efrafa at night. It would make her story all the more believable that way.

"But what if he asks where you are?" Bigwig hissed as Blackberry's shape began to disperse in the gloom. Her voice travelled back up to him, quiet and ethereal.

"Tell him; 'She knows what she's doing'!"

Bigwig sat back and tutted to himself. There was no point in going after her, in the dark she would easily outrun him being that much smaller, and Blackberry was scary when she had set her mind on something. This didn't mean it was going to make his job very much easier though.

* * *

Moss was just checking the perimeter of the silflay ground when he was bowled over by a doe. She had been apparently been going at top speed and crumpled against his chest as she shot out of the bracken. The pair of them tumbled down the embankment and landed in a heap at the bottom. By the time Moss had clambered to his feet the doe was already shrinking away from him, terror in her eyes, shaking like a leaf in a high gale.

"Help me?" She whispered, voice quiet, eyes wide. The Owsla officer could do little more than stare at her. Where on earth had she come from? By the looks of her she wasn't one of theirs, no marks on her anywhere. In fact she looked like she was in quite good shape, sleek fur, soft ears, bright eyes. She would make someone a fine doe one day, maybe even him…

"Oiy, Moss! What's going on down there?" The shout drew him out of his thoughts and he turned towards it to see Captain Chervil peering over the lip of the embankment.

"It's a doe, Sir! She's very frightened, ran right into me, Sir!"

"A doe?"

"Not one of ours, Sir!"

"Oh really?" Moss rolled his eyes, he didn't like the sound of the Captain's tone. He glanced at the doe, she was now staring up at Chervil with the same fear. Poor creature, there'd be no getting away now. "Bring her inside. I'll go wake the General. We'll see what he thinks of this."

"Yes, Sir!" Moss shouted up as Chervil's outline disappeared. He turned back to the doe and shook his head slightly. Poor, poor creature. She really was pretty and was looking at him with those big round eyes again, a little less fear now but still nervous. He gestured with his head, "Follow me, doe. Inside."

She followed wordlessly, hopping along closely behind him, so close that sometimes he could feel the warmth of her breath on his scutt. It was driving him insane really and when they got inside and he had his bum on the ground he wiggled his tail to dislodge the feeling. It would do no good getting himself all riled up over a pretty pair of big brown eyes when he was in front of the General. No good at all.

Woundwort looked down at them with something akin to distain in his eyes when he arrived. He never liked being woken and just for one little doe? Never in all his days would Moss have the guts to wake him up just for that. All the flayrah in the world couldn't tempt him.

"So," Woundwort mused, "A strange doe. Where did she come from?"

All eyes turned to the doe. She was shaking again and barely managed to splutter; "Sandleford Warren."

"Sandleford, eh?" The General repeated, throwing a glance at Chervil – who didn't notice. "That's a long way for a doe all on her own."

"Man destroyed it," She replied, keeping close to the floor. "I had no choice."

"We know a few rabbits from Sandleford Warren," He measured her reaction – her ears pricking up, the turn of her mouth into something of a smile, "Bigwig and Hazel and Fiver. You wouldn't happen to know them would you?"

"Oh, yes," The doe replied, sitting up a little straighter now it appeared as though companions were close at paw. "Bigwig was a Captain in our Owsla, very quick, very cunning. Hard to fool. And hazel and fiver… Well they were never of any note in Sandleford; a strange pair, quick witted and intelligent, but too thin to be of Owsla stock. Hazel could have been, but he never had any interest in that. They kept to themselves until they left, taking half the warren with them. Are they around here?" The doe asked, looking about.

"Oh you'll see them soon I'm sure." Woundwort replied, mind somewhere else. Half the warren, really? Woundwort churned the idea over in his head. They took half the warren with them, but how many had survived the journey? Certainly they had never been spied with any more than 5 rabbits. Hardly half the warren. Still, there may have been others that he didn't know about. Always the same five rabbits though…

"Well, doe – what is your name?"

"Blackberry."

"Well, Blackberry, there is no man here. Or elil. You'll be safe here if you'd like to stay." All eyes were back on the doe – Blackberry – as she apparently thought it over. It didn't take her very long to nod her agreement. "Good." Woundwort looked to Moss, "Find her a burrow, tomorrow morning we'll assign her a mark."

They hopped off and the rest of the Night Owsla was dismissed. Captain Chervil was just about to slip off – disappointed – back to his post, when Woundwort called him back. He approached with caution, as should always be done when nothing particularly dramatic had happened before hand. He was seized by the fur of his chest. Woundwort's spittle caught on his whiskers, "If you _ever_ wake me again for something so small, I'll have your hide for bedding. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely!" Chervil grit out, attempting a retreat.

"Good." Woundwort muttered, yawned, then let Chervil fall to the floor. "Then get back to your post. But keep an eye on that doe. She's not in the clear yet."

"Err, yes, Sir." Chervil backed out of the tunnel very quietly as the General turned to go back to his sleeping and other nightly activities.

* * *

"This is your burrow." The Owsla member said, indicating the empty spot to her. It smelt old and disused, but free from disease or anything else. "You will not leave it until you are called for, understand?"

Not to seem as though she already knew all of this, Blackberry struck a confused expression and asked, "Why not?"

"Those are the rules, I'm afraid." He shook his head, "You'll get used to it. Just keep your ears down for tonight."

And then with that, he was off, sparing her one last look before he hopped out of the section and off down the tunnel. Blackberry eyed the burrow. It was utterly empty; there wasn't a shred of vegetation or bedding in the place. She didn't know how she was going to sleep in here tonight, but she hoped she would be allowed to collect some tomorrow. Though she doubted it. Walking a circle four times, she decided that was good enough, and curled up to get some sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** There just aren't enough of these out there in my opinion. I'll try to keep this one short and sweet. Nothing too long and it'll be plenty fluffy, mark my words - BECAUSE THEY'RE BUNNY WABBITS! (Of course they're fluffy.)

Updates will probably be sporadic. Also note, I've not yet seen the end of the second season or any of the third. So I'm writing this as of the end of the christmas episodes on season two.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Finding Campion.

"Morning silflay!" The shout woke her from her light sleep with about as much charm as a bee-sting on the nose. She shook herself awake and then lolloped out of her 'burrow' and joined the end of the line of lop-eared, dull-eyed bunnies who were making their way outside. The outside – and silflay – was just about tickling her whiskers when a voice called her back.

"Blackberry – you're coming with me." It was Moss and he didn't look pleased. She was sure she had no idea why, but it was probably best to try not to cause trouble for today. She approached him and followed silently as he led her back to woundwort's chamber.

The General was waiting for her when they arrived, towering above them despite being on their level. He was a big rabbit there was no mistaking it and this time, Blackberry didn't have to fake the shivers than ran through her. She'd never really been easily frightened, especially not after the destruction of her first warren, but this was pushing the strength of her courage.

The General looked down at her, singular eye roving over her. He tilted her chin up with a paw and surveyed her. What he was assessing she didn't know, but she hoped he found something good after all this, she wouldn't want to be found less-than-satisfactory and be allocated to a simple birthing squad or something like that.

"Hmm," Woundwort inspected her claws. "Digging squad. Shoulder Mark."

Before she knew what was happening, Moss had struck her across the shoulder, gouging three rough lines out of her skin. She leapt about a foot in the air, letting out a frightened squeak. The General let out a low chuckle at the reaction and then waved them away, "Take her to silflay, Moss."

Blackberry followed Moss, wordlessly again, outside and to where a group of rabbits was eating in a straight line. Moss directed her to the end of the line, had a quick word with the Owsla in charge and then returned. "This is your mark, you will follow the orders of your officer to the letter and you will not ask questions." He breathed a sigh, "I'm sorry, Blackberry, but this is it now. Just keep out of trouble and you should be alright."

Blackberry mused as he hopped away, Moss didn't seem so bad, he would probably make a good ally if she could make one out of him. It would be good to have a few more Efrafans on their side. Speaking of which, she had yet to see Campion. She'd been keeping an eye out for him as Moss had been leading her about, but had seen neither hide nor hair of him. It was impossible to pick up his scent in here either, there were far too many other scents to mask his. She advanced one pace at the word of the Owsla guard and took a glance at the rabbit next to her. He was an older looking buck with dark brown fur, a bit scruffy with veins of grey running through it. He'd obviously seen his fair share of the seasons and she attempted to strike up a conversation, asking his name, introducing herself, but was shushed fairly rapidly by the Owsla guard. The buck hadn't responded to anything she'd said.

* * *

"And so, Sir, I left her at her morning silflay." Moss explained, glancing back over his shoulder as Campion slowed to a halt. "Sir? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, Moss. You did well." Campion shook his head and spared Moss a grin. He liked the young corporal, he wasn't poisoned by Efrafa's hopelessness yet and Campion meant to keep that from happening. It was amazing how far a simple grin would get you some days. But this doe… She might be some trouble; all the other rabbits in Hazel's warren seemed to be so should this one be any different? In any case, if she knew them, then she certainly wasn't the type who would do well in Efrafa. She was going to be a headache for him and no mistake. "When does the Shoulder Mark's silflay end?"

"Right around now, I should think, Sir." Moss replied, "Why?"

"I want you to keep an eye on that doe and report to me if she seems like a trouble-maker." Campion meanwhile had to go out on a wide patrol. Still, Moss could watch her for a little bit. Moss threw a salute and hopped off, leaving Campion to ponder the problem.

He hurried along to the gathering point and joined the head of the patrol as it began to move out. Today's patrol would take them over the iron road and to the river, along the edge and back through the open grassland, through a small wooded copse and into the back of Efrafa. It would give Campion plenty of time to contemplate the new doe, and contemplate he did.

Hazel would probably want to hear about her and then they would want to get her out and to their warren. But it wasn't going to be easy. Woundwort would have all eyes on her for being acquainted with 'the enemy' so having her slip away unnoticed was a no-go. Forcing her to do a runner probably wouldn't work either, she wouldn't know where to run to, not knowing the countryside at all. And even if she managed to hide somewhere in the hopes they wouldn't catch her, she'd be caught. If Woundwort thought her valuable enough, then he'd be out there himself searching for her and when he caught her it would be both their necks on the line. If he could contact Hazel… And someone could show her how to get to the new warren… And Campion himself could cause a distraction… Maybe take the wide patrol out the other direction at that point… She might be able to make a run for it. But that still brought him back to the problem that she wouldn't know where to go. Or – by the sound of Moss's first encounter with her – she'd be too frightened.

In the end, by the time he'd lead his patrol back around the copse and into Efrafa's parameter, he wasn't any closer to finding a solution to the problem. He hopped off to the silflay ground for his allotted time and to rack his brains some more over flayrah.

* * *

Efrafa, she decided, was like a prison. Owsla all over the place. She'd already been ordered out of tunnels twice and once had even been escorted back to her burrow. How she was supposed to find Campion in all of this was a complete mystery. Half the time she didn't even know where she was. Now, sitting on the bare, compacted earth floor of her dusty old burrow, she was beginning to think the task was impossible. What had she been thinking, getting herself into this mess? Getting in had been relatively easy, act like a pretty, defenceless doe, tell them the truth – albeit only half of the truth – and they practically let her waltz right in. Trouble was, now she was in here she didn't even know where to start. Maybe Bigwig was right when he said this wasn't a doe's work…

She shook her head, slightly disturbed by the fact that she even _had_ that thought; Bigwig being right? Frith was just about as likely to fall from the sky like an apple off a tree.

Her stomach grumbled at the thought and she rubbed at it. Silflay time here was pitiful. Hardly enough flayrah around to eat and if you wanted to eat enough to fill your belly in the time available, you'd have to eat so fast you'd give yourself a horrible bellyache. As a result, her first day was a hungry one. Maybe she should have eaten something before leaving Watership Down. Ah well, too late for such thoughts now. If she wanted something to eat, she would have to find it in here – an excellent excuse to being caught wandering about.

The passage outside her section looked clear and from the sounds of things, the guards at the end of the tunnel might be napping. She crept along and peered out. Only to have her nose stubbed on something very hard, and furry.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" She whispered hurriedly, leaping back and bowing low to the floor in a submissive position. Busted. She screwed her eyes shut at the thought of the clobbering she was about to get – if today's earlier instances were anything to go by then that was the favoured punishment around these parts – but was rewarded with nothing worse than a pat on the head.

"Blackberry, I take it. I'm Captain Campion."

Oh lucky day! She opened her eyes to look into the face of the most handsome rabbit she'd ever seen – even more so than Hazel and he wasn't bad himself! – oh lucky day indeed. She fought to find some words, but could only nod. Yes. She was Blackberry. Or at least she thought she was.

"Where is your burrow?" He asked her, not seeming anywhere near as affected by her as she was by him. She willed herself to pull it together and turned around, leading the handsome Owsla Captain to her pitiful little excuse of a burrow.

If she had expected some sympathy from him, or even a civilized conversation, then she was to be much mistaken. She was unceremoniously crammed into the very back of her burrow, the big male blocking her in and blocking out the prying eyes of anyone else who might care to listen in.

"It's been said that you know Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig," He whispered, breath ruffling her whiskers, "Is that true?"

She gulped and nodded, once again unable to talk. Hazel. Fiver. Bigwig. Acquainted. Yep. Got it.

"Listen very carefully then, because we won't have very much time." He said. His breath smelt sweet, like carrots. Frith above, she was hungry, she wondered where he got them from, and if she could have any of them. "I can get you out of here and to them, I just need your co-operation."

Yep. Co-operation. Getting out and- whoa whoa whoa! Wait a tick! Nope. Not good.

"I'm meeting with Hazel at sundown and will inform him that you're here-" Nope. _Really_ not good. "- And from there he'll form a plan to get you to his new warren. I'll find you at your morning silflay to-"

"I don't need any of that, Captain."

"-tell… Pardon?" He looked immediately confused. Oh dear, this wasn't going well. "You don't… need…"

"I don't want to go to Hazel, I just came from him."

"You… What?" Blackberry swallowed thickly; the Owsla Captain's expression darkened to a frown. That didn't bode well. "You just came from his warren? Are you being serious?"

"Yes."

"And why wasn't I informed of this before?"

"Because…" Good question. It would certainly have made it easier on him if he knew what was going on. But then none of this was really planned anyway, Hazel didn't even know about it.

"Never mind." Campion shook his head and backed out of her burrow. She didn't know what to do. He gave her one last, disappointed look, then disappeared off out of the burrow.

Blackberry gulped. That… Didn't go the way she'd expected it to. But then again, there was really no other way for it to go, having not informed Campion of her little plan it was only natural that he should assume to believe the same story that she'd told to all the other Efrafans. And Campion being the loyal ally that he was decided it was his task to solve her glaring problem. Her next move – if Campion was prepared to have anything to do with her after this little episode – would have to be well thought out and better planned.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ I think this chapter is ok... Shouldn't be any mistakes in it, I apologise for the mistakes in the last chapter, awful of me to be quite so negligent wot wot! I hope you lot enjoyed this chapter, we're starting to really get into it now. Next chapter will be called: Concerning Does - and that should pretty much tell you all you need to know about the next chapter.

A bit of a warning though, before we go much further; these chapters are going to go quite fast and I shan't be lingering over things for very long (descriptions of things not being necessary and all that) because the main point here is to get the story across adequately. So if the lack of any deep descriptive detail irks you, I'm sorry, but that's not what I'm writing this for...

-Lapin


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Concerning Does.

Dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig. All she did was dig. All day, every day. While most of her life at Watership Down seemed to consist of mainly digging, enlarging the warren, building defences, keeping Hawkbit and Dandelion digging, it was nothing compared to this. The ceiling was already so high that she could barely reach it and still they wanted her to dig. The poor little does who worked alongside her looked half-dead from their own efforts. Their fur was filthy with mud, their claws blunted by stones, their paw-pads scratched, bruised, skinless… It was too much work for them. Their ears drooped with weakness; their eyes were dull with exhaustion. Still they worked on.

"It's no good, keeping half-dead creatures up to their ears in hard work." Blackberry muttered to herself as she stretched for the ceiling, barely managing to scratch it with her claws and deposit some crumbs of dirt on her head. "They should at least change the rotation."

Not far away, a doe who was digging out a large boulder stopped her work. She tried to sit up but staggered a few paces, before collapsing. Abandoning her digging, Blackberry hurried over. To her relief the doe was still alive and breathing, but didn't seem to be conscious to the world.

"Someone get some help!" Blackberry called to the other does, "She needs some rest!"

No one moved, a few glances were spared in her direction, but the digging continued. "Can't you hear me?" Blackberry huffed at them, "She needs help!"

"And you need to pipe down!" The Owsla Guard – who had previously been snoozing at the tunnel entrance – shouted at her. Hopping over, he shoved her out of the way and inspected the doe himself. After some sniffing and a few cautioned prods he pointed Blackberry back to her digging. "Get back to work. She'll be awake in a bit and then she can join the rest of you."

"No!" Blackberry protested, "She needs proper help! Rest! Water and flayrah! If you don't help her she'll- Oof!"

The guard struck her, pushing her over onto her back, growling as he raised his paw to deal her another blow.

"Halt!"

Moss's head appeared above her, his eyes hard, paw raised against the paw of the guard.

"But, Sir, she-" The guard tried to protest as Moss helped Blackberry to her feet.

"You already exacted your punishment." Moss dismissed the protests. "There's no need for any more." His eyes lit upon the body of the fallen doe. "What's the matter with that doe?"

"She'd been pushed beyond her limits." Blackberry snapped, glaring at the now-slightly-sheepish guard, "If she does any more work she'll die."

"Somebody take her back to her burrow." Moss commanded and a pair of the wearier looking diggers practically leapt at the chance, lolloping over to the doe and grabbing an arm apiece before beginning the laborious task of dragging her off to her burrow. Still, it beat the hell out of digging.

"Blackberry," Moss heaved a sigh – not a good sign, "Come with me, General Woundwort wants to talk to you."

There didn't seem to be anything else Woundwort could want to talk to her about. Nothing obvious anyway, so what he could want to talk to her about was anyone's guess. It made Blackberry very nervous; if she didn't know what she was going to be up against then she couldn't plan a way around it, a way to slip below the wire as it were. The only thing that was really obvious was-

Campion was waiting in Woundwort's chamber when they arrived and the sight of him spun Blackberry's internal monologue off the trail. He looked harried, the fur on one side of his head was pushed up the wrong way – like Pipkin's fur always was in the mornings – and his eyes looked… bloodshot. He looked – in short – terrible. She wondered if part of that sleepless night was on account of her causing him trouble. She hoped not.

"Well, Blackberry," General Woundwort leapt down from his high perch, the whole earth seemed to shake with the force of his landing. "How are you liking Efrafa so far?"

"Honestly, not very much, Sir." She said honestly, gaining some warning looks from Campion and Moss and an unsurprised eyebrow-raise from Woundwort. "Your people are overworked and I'm hungry! I'm not allowed to talk to anyone and I can't even ask why I'm not allowed more silflay time! It's terrible frankly."

"Overworked are they?" Woundwort mused, turning away and walking towards the opening that led to the silflay ground. "Not enough silflay time? That does sound terrible. Well then something needs to change, doesn't it."

"Yes." Blackberry said, a little less fire in her burner now. His admission was way too easy for this to be the end of it. "It does…"

"Tell me, Blackberry, how well did you know Bigwig, Hazel and Fiver?" Woundwort asked, looking out over his 'subjects'.

"Reasonably well, Sir," She said, cautious not to be too truthful, but not to lie so that he wouldn't believe her. "Why?"

"If you can help me, Blackberry, I'll make some changes around here. Beginning with the silflay times, if you like."

Tempting, tempting… But not tempting enough. "I think, Sir-"

"I think that Blackberry's misconceptions about Efrafa would be cleared up, Sir, if she was given someone to talk to." Campion cut her off, moving in between her and Woundwort. "The thought of hunger is only there because she's lonely, Sir."

"Really, Captain Campion?" Woundwort turned around to face him, eyes testing, "What brings you to that conclusion?"

"I've seen it before, Sir," Campion said, gesturing to Blackberry with a paw, "It's particularly common in does, Sir, they have a much higher inclination to chat."

"This wouldn't need to get in the way of her helping me, would it." It was a statement, not a question. With no paths open for debate, Campion shook his head.

"No it wouldn't, Sir, but it would stow some of her complaining." Blackberry privately felt this to be a direct insult. A little revenge for not having informed him of her plans before dropping in on him without any warning. It seemed to get passed Woundwort though, who nodded in satisfaction.

"Then a companion is in order and so we can continue to speak about your friends, Blackberry."

"What sort of a companion?" She asked, curious as to the sort of upper-paw she was about to gain. If they were involved in the Owsla then that might prove useful, however if they were someone who had been in Efrafa for a long time then they might know of some weaknesses in the parameter and be willing to share the information with her. Anything could help, anything at all.

"What sort of a companion did you have in mind for Blackberry?" Woundwort asked Campion, also apparently quite curious.

Campion set to thinking, ears and whiskers twitching as he thought up ideas, then tossed them aside and thought of new ones. Eventually he appeared to have settled on one, but also seemed quite apprehensive to suggest it. Woundwort was, however, expectant and pulled an expression that clearly said "we're waiting".

"If someone was to claim her as their doe then there would be little issue with her having anyone to talk to."

She rather wished she hadn't asked.

"Ah, yes," Woundwort scratched his chin, "This is a doe without a buck isn't it… Well that should solve the issue nicely, well done, Captain Campion." Campion bowed at the praise. Woundwort continued, turning his attention back to Blackberry and the apparent task at paw – although in Blackberry's humble opinion the most pressing matter had just recently changed. "Now then, Blackberry, you were saying that you would help me in return for more silflay."

"I suppose…" Blackberry relented, not liking the sound of anything that had just transpired. Honestly, Campion! There was revenge and then there was revenge! What was all this about? Find her a buck, indeed!

Woundwort led her away to his chambers for some further 'questions' orientating around her friends. No one else was allowed to follow.

* * *

Campion felt a little blown out after that. It was a close run thing too. If the General hadn't liked his idea then he would have been accused of attempted sabotage. Not a desirable thing at all. Blackberry wouldn't be pleased with him, but that didn't really matter, he wasn't best pleased with her at the minute either. Perhaps getting her a buck was a bit much, but it didn't matter. If he could present enough ideas to the General that decided he didn't _need_ Blackberry's knowledge on Bigwig and Hazel and Fiver… Well the problem would be solved.

Or at least, one problem would be solved. The issue of getting Blackberry out of Efrafa – which he was still adamant he needed to do – was still high on the list. The issue of ensuring her safety _within_ Efrafa was even higher. He'd spent the night tossing and turning, thinking about her and how to keep her safe. What was she even doing in Efrafa? What did Hazel and Bigwig hope to accomplish by sending a _doe,_ of all rabbits?! And why in the name of Frith wasn't he involved in the planning? You'd think it would be the first thing that crossed their minds – tell Campion we're sending someone in – but no, apparently not.

He paced in his burrow as he thought. First thing's first, be the buck who gets to keep her for his doe. If they were closer together then it would be easier for him to keep her safe and easier for them to share information. There would be nothing strange about two mates conversing in their burrow, certainly much less strange than two complete strangers meeting in the corridor and having lengthy discussions. How he was going to get her for his doe however was another matter entirely. To simply ask for her probably wouldn't work, it would look far too much as if he'd planned the whole thing out and he'd have to have some pretty fancy explanations ready for when the questions and accusations began to fly…

* * *

"When you were all at Sandleford Warren together, I imagine Bigwig fought quite a bit, am I right?" Woundwort asked, scratching a shallow grove in the floor of his burrow absent-mindedly. Blackberry's eyes followed the repetitive motion.

"I imagine…"

"Was he ever hurt very badly? Injured anywhere?"

"I don't know. I was never really that friendly with him." She swallowed thickly, wondering if maybe she should big him up a bit… "I remember he was always quite a good fighter though."

"And mentally? Was he slow at all?"

"Oh not Bigwig, quick and clever and strong. Nigh in indestructible I should think. He was a lot smarter than many of the other Owsla – he was among the first to join Hazel and Fiver in the escape from Sandleford."

"Interesting… What about Hazel or Fiver? Did they ever suffer any injuries?"

"Fiver was always a bit small, but I don't think you could call that an injury, Sir."

"No, quite, Hazel then? What about him?"

"He's never had an injury," She shook her head although it was a blatant lie; "It was a well-known fact in our warren. He was far too quick and clever for that, Sir. His nick-name was El Ahrairah." Another lie because Hazel would never have accepted something so auspicious, but Woundwort didn't need to know that.

"Really…?" Woundwort muttered, scratching at his chin. Apparently the thought bothered him. Good.

"Why do you need to know these things, Sir?" Blackberry asked, hoping to maybe have him wimp out, not that it was likely.

"To take care of them, Blackberry," Woundwort replied, "We look out for our friends here in Efrafa."

She supressed a snort of derision and said "But they don't appear to be in Efrafa, Sir."

"No, they're our neighbours. We will be joining our warrens soon enough though."

"Right," Blackberry pretended to muse over that, although the doubt was already cemented in her mind. It looked as though now might be a good time to broach another subject, since the questions seemed to have run out. "About my buck, sir?"

"Yes?"

"Am I allowed to choose?"

"No. Owsla officers get the first pick of the does and after that you will be assigned to a lone buck. There is no choosing."

Problem encountered. "But I was hoping that maybe I could be assigned to Captain Campion, Sir."

"And why's that?"

"Because he was the one who decided I needed a buck in the first place, Sir. It seems only fair that he should have to share in the task, Sir."

Woundwort let out a rasping laugh. "Yes…" He chuckled darkly, scratching a much deeper grove beside the first. "That would be fair wouldn't it… Very well, Blackberry, on one condition. That you make no complaints. You are a loyal servant to Efrafa. You will answer every question that is posed to you and you will make none in return. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir," She breathed a mental sigh of relief. Well that should show Campion shouldn't it. A just punishment for landing her in the thick of it, eh? "Thank you, Sir."

"Now get out. Back to your work." Woundwort grumbled at her as she swept a low bow before hopping off.

Captain Chervil entered as she left and said, tone dry, "Captain Campion requests to see you, Sir."

* * *

"It's about Blackberry, Sir." Campion said as he settled himself down in front of Woundwort, who pulled a carrot – provided as a gift by Campion – towards him.

"She's requested that she be your mate." Woundwort announced as he bit into the carrot, immediately stowing anything Campion had to say next. "I've accepted. You're to collect her at the end of her work time and move her into your burrow."

"Err… Yes, Sir." He was flummoxed. She'd requested him? Well in all reality it shouldn't have been that strange, they were on the same side after all, but he'd thought he was going to have to- He'd even brought a carrot along to- Oh, darn it! Now what was he going to say?

"Why are you here?" Woundwort asked dryly. Very good question. Why the hell was he here? Asking the chief to let him monopolise Blackberry was going to be risky to start with, even with the carrot, but now he had to think up something new to say! Something that involved Blackberry…

"I think she… needs… some… more time to settle in, Sir. She's not yet used to the rules and I think she should be allowed some lea-way when it comes to what deserves punishment and what doesn't, Sir."

"That's not a problem anymore, Captain Campion. As her mate you will educate her on our laws and if she steps out of line it will be your task to exact her punishment. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir. Very sorry to have disturbed you, Sir." He backed hurriedly out of the burrow before Woundwort could find anything else to say and hurried off. It seemed as though Frith's light might be shining on him today; that was a hell of a lot easier than it ought to have been. But now he needed to find Blackberry before anyone else did and drag her off to his – correction, _their_ – burrow for a strict talking to. She was putting him in far too many sticky situations for him to be comfortable with.

He made his way down to the digging site and looked about. Blackberry was on the opposite side of the current chamber, digging out a boulder. He hopped up, realising as he arrived that he hadn't thought of anything to say. How was one supposed to address their mate anyway?

"Blackberry."

* * *

It was Campion and he looked nervous. She dreaded to think what it was that could make Captain Campion nervous; it must be something fearsome indeed…

"Yes?" She stopped her digging, sitting up and wiping her paws off on her stomach. "What is it?"

"General Woundwort has just informed me that you have requested to be my doe. Do you deny it?"

What was this? An interrogation? All bucks were the same, as soon as they got even the slightest tickle in their whiskers they turned to militarism and barbarism.

"No, I do not deny it." She said firmly, "It serves you right, landing me in a heap of trouble like that. It was you who decided I needed a mate in the first place, you should be prepared to face the consequences." She added in a whisper, "And you call yourself our ally!"

He looked immediately affronted. "I _am_ your ally," He hissed, "And before you go getting your tail in a twist perhaps you should think about that before making wild accusations."

"I didn't accuse you of anything." She said, crossing her paws and beginning to tap her foot in clear agitation. "I simply stated the truth."

"You stated what you 'saw' to be the truth because you're up for petty rivalry." Campion retorted, ears beginning to lie back against his head – although whether that was a conscious decision of his she couldn't tell. He didn't really intend on fighting with her, did he? "If you hadn't been causing me trouble in the first place, I wouldn't have had to try and get Woundwort to give you a buck. And if you'd not been caught up in revenge-"

"Revenge?!"

"-Yes, revenge. That's what this is and there's no point in trying to deny it. If you hadn't been caught up in revenge I wouldn't have been cheated out of a good carrot and I wouldn't have had to look like a fool in front of my chief!"

"I didn't-"

"Because of you going about and doing things all by yourself I've now got a doe to watch over! Granted it was my intention anyway but you didn't need to do anything about it! I had it all under control, even selected a carrot out of my personal stock to butter him up to the idea but because of you it was useless; just a tasty snack! All my carefully constructed arguments and counter arguments and planning and re-planning just flew out the burrow because of you and your meddling paws!"

Blackberry thought he was beginning to sound a little like a raving lunatic now and by the looks of things all the others in the digging site were starting to think the same. The Owsla who was on guard approached carefully.

"Is, err, everything alright, Captain Campion, Sir?"

"Yes, thank you, everything is fine." He huffed; ears standing up straight again, hackles lowering. "I was just disciplining my new doe, though it's none of your business."

The guard nodded hesitantly, then went back to his post. Blackberry took her paw from where it had strayed to her chest in the face of Campion's anger and gulped. So, he was really good looking, reliable, clever, and thoroughly annoyed. Surely it wasn't fair for a doe to have to face off to so much!

* * *

_**A/N:**_Bit longer this one. I'm trying to keep the chapters under 5000 words because a fellow author told me long chapters are offputting at the start of a story... If anyone thinks it's a good idea though, I'll make them a bit longer as we get further in.

So, what did we think? I'm afraid there are probably mountains of plotholes which I'm sure will be pointed out - and you're welcome to do so, I will be sure to revise the chapters based on your critisisms - but surely there are some good points too!

Hope you enjoyed, I think the next chapter will be called 'Night Number One' and that ought to tell you all you need to know ;)

-Lapin.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**_ Apologese for the wait, but I do have an education to gain...

This is only the first night and thus it is quite short. Nothing fluffy just yet and certain subjects will be broached later on...

* * *

Chapter 4 - Night Number One.

Campion paced in his burrow, dried bedding crunching beneath his paws, leaves and twigs cracking under his weight. It wouldn't be long before he had to go and collect Blackberry and the tension level was rising. After his little spat with her earlier he'd flounced off on a wide patrol and hadn't seen her since. He had no doubt that she was still hard at work digging new space into the warren but he wasn't in the mood to go and find her before it was strictly necessary. One thought in particular was bothering him; she disliked him. It was obvious that his approach to her thinking for herself was less than impressive and probably threw a bad militaristic light around him.

He wasn't normally like that though – he was determined to make clear – it was just that he wasn't normally flailing about like a rabbit in the dark either. Normally he had the situation well under control and all four paws firmly on solid ground. Lately however, 'under-control' seemed a little thin on the ground for his liking; ever since Hazel and Bigwig had provided an alternative to Woundwort's authoritarianism. Blackberry's arrival was like the straw that broke the bunny's back, metaphorically speaking.

It wasn't just how she saw him that was going to be a problem either, from what he'd seen a scorned doe could be quite vicious when she wanted to be. What was that saying? 'Hell hath no fury like a doe's wrath'? Sounded about right… He shivered at the thought and sat down in his bed. The burrow was just about big enough for him with some room to wriggle about, barely big enough to turn around in and he highly doubted it was big enough for two rabbits… Spending whole nights trapped in close quarters with a vicious female… Frithadinley, what was he thinking when he decided this was a good idea?

In fact, the longer he stayed where he was and thought about it, the more articles he came up with that would probably look unsatisfactory to the critical eye. Like for example the quality of his bedding. It hadn't been changed in ages and had dried up to be little more than a pile of crispy husks. He was willing to bet his tail it wasn't anywhere near the same quality as the stuff they had at Hazel's warren. Lucky buggers might as well have been kipping on gold dust as far as he was concerned… His personality was also probably lacking in a number of places, he had little interest in making new acquaintances for example, talking was a method of transferring information, nothing that was unnecessary was discussed. He didn't offer much personal background, he didn't trust very easily and he had the propensity to drift into his own little world if the current subject matter was boring him. Blackberry would probably find herself talking to the equivalent of a sack of potatoes more often than not and if he knew does – which he adequately thought he did – then this would be an infinite source of irritation.

There were obviously some redeeming features that he hoped would balance him out a bit – like being strong and trustworthy – but they rather paled in his opinion in comparison to his infinite number of short-comings.

When the Owsla began to return to their burrows and it was time for the watch to change paws, Campion estimated it was about time to go and find Blackberry; bring her to her new home – as it were. He wasn't looking forward to it, it was going to be awkward and uncomfortable and being a typical male he was going to treat the situation as a strictly military exercise and an obstacle to be over-come. Cue Mr Insensitive.

Nevertheless, he lolloped over to the digging site and looked about for Blackberry. She was sat in the corner waiting for him, looking dusty and worn out. Hopefully this would mean that the first night would be a quiet one, with any luck.

He cleared his throat on his approach and she looked up. "Hello."

"Hello," She replied, getting to her feet. To his relative surprise, she appeared to make the movement quite easily, but he supposed that after a few more days of gruelling work that would change.

"We have a while to eat flayrah if you want," He said quietly, "But then we have to retire to the burrow."

She nodded, but said nothing in reply. He didn't know if that meant she wanted to go and find some flayrah, if she wanted to go straight to the burrow and sleep, or if she had no opinion on the matter at all. He led the way to the flayrah anyway and picked up a turnip while Blackberry picked up a carrot. The Owsla guard looked as though he wanted to tell her off, crack her around the ears for just being there, but upon meeting Campion's eye he thought better of it.

They managed to make it back to the burrow without anyone casting anything more dangerous than disapproving glances. Being an Owsla Captain certainly had its perks and – if Blackberry was going to be staying for very long – so did being and Owsla Captain's doe. Campion was well aware that the reason they were getting away with so much stuff was because Woundwort currently considered Blackberry to be an asset to be utilized and not someone to be scared away. The General was often under the impression that if he treated others too meanly they would refuse to say anything – the more outspoken they were, the more gutsy they tended to be in the face of tyranny – and most of the time he was correct. As soon as it became obvious that Blackberry wouldn't give him what he wanted however, the torture would begin and they wouldn't be getting away with anything. So it was best to get it in while the flayrah was good.

They ate in silence, Blackberry starting on the carrot and Campion on the turnip, but by the time Blackberry had finished her carrot Campion had decided he'd had enough turnip and left the rest for Blackberry. She scarfed it down with barely a pause for breath and then glanced about as though looking for more. Campion was suddenly very aware of how lacking Efrafa was in comparison to Hazel's warren. They probably had flayrah coming out of their ears over there…

"Is there only one bed?" Blackberry asked, bringing Campion out of his dreams – Flayrah 'on tap'.

"Unfortunately yes," Campion said, getting up and wandering over to the bedding. "Although that's normal here in Efrafa."

"Really?" She looked apprehensive.

"Yeah, they're normally bigger for two rabbits though."

"I can make it bigger in my free time." Blackberry said, getting up and joining him. She wrinkled her nose at the sight. "And fresher too."

"It doesn't smell." He insisted, finding the idea of her accusing his bedding of being 'unfresh' rather insulting. "It's just dry that's all."

"Oh I didn't mean-!" Blackberry said quickly, looking at him with a wide-eyed expression, as though shocked that she could have been understood as such. "I'm sorry, I just meant it looked like it had been there a while… It's gone crispy was all I meant."

"Well," Campion said as he trampled around in it before finally settling down with what he thought was a fairly sizable patch for Blackberry left over. "You'll find out why it's been here such a long time when you discover why the burrow isn't any bigger."

"You're a single male?"

"No," He grit his teeth, "Nobody has the time to dig a bigger burrow or gather new bedding, or even take the old stuff out. There is _no_ free time."

She giggled a little, paw pressed to her mouth as he raised a brow at her. "Oh, I am sorry, Captain Campion, but you sound like an old fishwife with that sort of tone."

He raised the other brow in silent, ambiguous comment, then settled himself down to sleep. A few moments later, Blackberry's warm, soft body settled beside his. The pressure was a little uncomfortable but he would make a note to request his burrow be made a little bigger and the problem should go away.

He glanced at his doe from the corner of one slitted eye. She had her eyes closed and her chin on her paws. He long ears were lying flat against her back and her whiskers twitched lightly and she breathed. Very pretty, quite adorable. He shut his eye again and tried to close his mind to the world, willing sleep to take over him.

But before he dozed off, Blackberry said quietly beside him; "We've heard a lot of stories about you on the warren, Captain Campion. I'm glad to see that at least some of them are correct."

He wondered dimly what those stories were.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ Next time on Watership Down: _"Sire, I wouldn't recommend-"_

_"I'm not interested in what you 'recommend', runt." Woundwort cut him off, single eye roving over the twin white scars that adorned the young buck's lips. "Your 'recommendations' seem nothing if not self-serving. You're lucky you've got the brains you have or I'd have thrown you out on your scutt by now. What I need you for is military tacticion. Nothing else. So button your lip unless you want another pretty little line to match your others."  
_

_Understandibly, Sorrel buttoned his lip._

We say hello to a new character and a dedication to a dedicated follower and reviewer with much advice and the eyes for poking holes in my plot :P

There will be the opportunity to place other characters in various spots (minor roles) so if you wish to make a cameo appearance, PM me with a basic bunny-background and I will add you in somewhere. All additional rabbits will have minor roles and will not appear at any time or place touched on by the TV series.

-Lapin.


End file.
